Cobb County School District School Bus Driver Guide
Bring your CDL permit and Cobb pays you to train. School Bus Drivers start at $28.69/hr.
🎁 Limited-time: + free Georgia CDL Passenger & School Bus study guide
Cobb County School District, based in Marietta, is the second-largest district in Georgia, enrolling about 105,700 students across 112 schools. Its transportation department moves roughly 72,500 students a day on 870 routes, with 886 conventional buses and 288 special needs buses covering about 68,700 miles daily. The district employs 875 drivers against 870 daily routes, a thin margin, and Transportation holds recurring hiring events.
Cobb hires differently than many districts. You need a Commercial Learner's Permit (CLP), earned before you enter the Bus Driver Training Program, to be hired. The district provides the rest of the training, pays you during it, and requires the full Class B CDL before you complete the program. The CLP and its fees are your responsibility. The trainee hourly rate is not separately published. This page covers the permit step, the pay, the work year, and what to ask Transportation.
Cobb County School District at a glance
The essentials, pulled from official sources. The full pay tables, the exact application walkthrough, and the school calendar are in the guide.
How to become a School Bus Driver in Cobb County
The path in order. The guide expands every step with the exact forms, links, and figures for Cobb County School District.
Confirm you qualify, then earn your CLP
Georgia sets the minimum age for a School Bus Driver at 18 and sets no state driving-experience minimum, so Cobb sets its own. Confirm the current requirement with Transportation. Your driving record must meet the district's safe-driver standards. Cobb requires you to hold a Commercial Learner's Permit before you enter the Bus Driver Training Program. You earn that permit on your own by passing the Georgia commercial knowledge tests, and permit fees are yours.
Apply online for "School Bus Driver"
Start at the Employment page on cobbk12.org and click through to the district's PowerSchool job board. Search the title "School Bus Driver" (Job Code 461). Postings stay open until filled. Complete the full application and certify your driving and employment history accurately, because the background check will surface anything left out.
Interview by phone, virtually, or in person
Cobb offers virtual and phone interviews, and you can walk in to a Transportation compound between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to inquire. The district operates four bus shops: South Cobb at 620 South Cobb Dr in Marietta, Sanders in Powder Springs, and Baker and Mars Hill in Acworth. The district also holds district-wide job fairs.
Clear the screenings after your offer
After a conditional offer you complete a fingerprint criminal record check run through the Georgia Crime Information Center and the FBI, a DOT 5-panel drug screen, a DOT physical that earns your Medical Examiner's Certificate, and the separate Georgia school bus driver physical, taken within 60 days before employment. Cobb has not published who pays for the physical, fingerprints, and drug screen, so ask Transportation at 678-594-8000 before you schedule them.
Complete paid district training and earn your full CDL
Cobb provides the remaining training through its Transportation Department and pays trainees during the program. You must earn the full Class B CDL with the P (passenger) and S (School Bus) endorsements before you complete the training. The district also runs its own CDL road testing as a Georgia Certified CDL Third Party Tester. Georgia requires 24 hours of state-approved initial training before you drive students.
Finish the probationary period and start your route
A 20-day probationary period with evaluation follows training. You then ride routes with an experienced trainer until you know yours and drive solo. Full-time assignments run 181 days a year at a minimum of about 6 hours per day. Cobb publishes no program length in weeks, so ask Transportation when the next class starts.
What's in the full Cobb County School District guide
35+ pages, twelve chapters, written in plain English — everything above in full detail, plus the parts that change year to year.
Right now, includes a free Georgia CDL Passenger & School Bus endorsement study guide — the exact material on the two written tests, so you pass the first time. Bundled with your Cobb County School District guide at no extra cost, for a limited time.
The real pay tables
Every step of the Cobb County School District pay scale, benefits, and the split-shift schedule — the numbers that decide if this fits your life.
The application, walked through
Exactly what to submit and which documents to attach, so you are not knocked out on a technicality.
The interview
The three things every interviewer is really asking, and what to highlight. (Free in the sample.)
Screenings & paid CDL training
Every screening after your offer, who pays for what, and how you are trained toward your CDL.
The school calendar
This year's Cobb County School District calendar — work days, holidays, and breaks — so you know your real schedule.
Managing a bus full of kids
The passenger-management techniques veteran drivers swear by. (Also free in the sample.)
See inside before you buy
A few real pages from the manual — the interview and passenger-management chapters — so you can judge the quality yourself.
Cobb County School District bus driver questions
Do I need a CDL to drive a School Bus for Cobb County?
You need a Commercial Learner's Permit before Cobb will hire you, but not the full CDL. The district provides the rest of the training, pays you during it, and requires the full Class B CDL with Passenger and School Bus endorsements before you complete the program. You earn the CLP on your own and pay the permit fees.
How much do Cobb County School Bus Drivers make?
The starting rate is $28.69 per hour on the 2025-26 Transportation Salary Schedule (NE01 Step 1), and relief drivers are paid the same rate. Step placement credits verified same-type experience at one step per year and up to 3 years of active-duty military service. The job is a 10-month position of 181 days at about 6 hours per day. The trainee hourly rate during training is not separately published.
What benefits come with the job, and is there a union?
Benefits include health, dental, vision, life, and cancer insurance. Drivers work the school calendar and can receive continued pay over the summer, funded by a 15 percent summer-pay deduction each pay period and a 5 percent winter-pay deduction from August through December. Extra pay is available through field trips, activity runs, and training roles. No union represents Cobb bus drivers, because Georgia has no public-sector collective bargaining law. No sign-on bonus has been confirmed, so ask Transportation whether any incentive is in effect.
What's the free CDL study guide?
For a limited time, every district guide comes bundled with a free study guide for your state's CDL Passenger and School Bus endorsements — the two written tests you'll take. It covers exactly what's on those tests so you can pass the first time, at no extra cost.
Is this an official guide from the School District?
No. It is an independent preparation guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by any School District. It organizes the public information into one clear manual so you do not have to dig for it.
How do I get the guide after I pay?
Instantly. Checkout takes about a minute, then you get a download link on the screen and by email. It is a PDF you can open on any phone, tablet, or computer and keep.
Get hired in Cobb County School District.
The whole hiring process in one guide — pay, forms, contacts, and the calendar, all in order.